Page 68 of Keep My Heart
‘You mean as a date?’
‘Or a friend.’
‘Sawyer would go with you. As a friend,’ Nick clarifies. ‘You want me to ask him?’
‘No, that’s okay. He needs to be at the brewery. I’ll just meet up with Diane when I get there, assuming I go. I might skip it and do something with my mom since I’m flying back to LA the next day.’
‘You ever consider moving?’ Nick asks as we continue to the next hole. It has a pyramid on it that you have to go through to get to the other side. I didn’t realize until now that these obstacles don’t fit any kind of theme. A clown, a pyramid, a fish. But I like that it doesn’t make sense. It makes it more quirky and fun. I’m glad Nick suggested this. It lets us talk while also giving us something to do so we aren’t tempted to do things we shouldn’t.
‘You mean out of my apartment?’ I ask as Nick hits the ball directly through the pyramid.
‘No, out of California.’
‘Oh. I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.’ I hit the ball and it bounces off the pyramid, not even close to the little tunnel it’s supposed to go through. ‘Where would I go if I moved?’
‘You could move back here, be close to your mom.’
‘I’ve thought about it, but how would I meet someone here? I know all the guys my age and I’m not interested in any of them.’
‘You could go older. Hal’s single.’
‘Hal who?’
‘Hal of Hal’s Hardware. He winked at you when we were checking out today. He’s definitely interested.’
‘Yeah, I’ll pass,’ I say, laughing. ‘I’d like someone a little younger.’
We continue the game, talking and laughing and listening to old songs. It’s the most fun I’ve had in years. I wish it didn’t have to end.
‘Last hole,’ Nick says, lining up his shot. ‘The one-eyed clown.’
I laugh. ‘It used to have two.’
Nick makes his shot, landing it in the clown’s mouth. ‘Guess that’s it.’
‘You’re way too good at this.’ I hit the ball harder than I intended. It bounces off the clown’s nose, hits the green, and bounces into the mouth.
‘Trick shot,’ Nick says. ‘Impressive.’
‘It was pure luck. I didn’t mean to do that.’
He takes my club and collects the balls and takes them back to where he found them.
‘I can’t believe this course hasn’t been torn down,’ I say as we walk back to the truck.
‘Why would they tear it down? It’s great.’
I stop at the truck. ‘I don’t get you, Nick.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You live in a fancy apartment in New York. Go to all these fancy places and expensive restaurants, and yet you’re still okay going to a place like this.’
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
I shrug. ‘I don’t know. I thought you might’ve turned kind of snobby living in the big city and looked down on places like this.’
‘Are you kidding? I love places like this. I also love dive bars and greasy diners. I live in a big city, but I’m still a small-town guy. Always will be.’
